Think of Others to Keep Roads Safe

In a motorized society such as the United States — and, in this case, Polk County — basic rules must be followed. Failure to do so can result in consequences that range from danger to death.

By Glenn Marston

In a motorized society such as the United States — and, in this case, Polk County — basic rules must be followed.Failure to do so can result in consequences that range from danger to death:■ One must drive on the right side of the road. Tens of thousands of cars and trucks pass within a few feet of one another daily on undivided streets and highways in Polk County without a problem. Vehicles from the smallest Smart car to the largest semitrailer drive past one another in opposite directions at combined speeds of more than 100 mph without a second thought. However, if one driver crosses the center line and drives on the left, the system collapses. A head-on collision is often fatal.■ Stoplights and stop signs must be obeyed. Routinely, they are. Again, it only takes one driver to upset the order and cause the system to fail. If a head-on crash might be considered the worst, a T-bone crash is not far behind. When a car has stopped at a light or sign, then is driven into an intersection, only to be hit in the side, the margin for survival can be slim. That's particularly true if the side of the car hit is where a person is seated. Because the door of a car is relatively thin, there is little structure to resist an oncoming car. Much of the crash energy is transferred directly to the body of the person on the other side of the door — with disastrous results.■ In urban areas, roads hide an underground network of pipes, cables and pumping stations. Manholes are created to provide access for maintenance and repair. Manhole covers of heavy cast iron hold themselves in place, and allow cars and pedestrians to pass safely over the holes. As a Jan. 29, 2004, report from BBC News says, even the theft of manhole covers can have deadly consequences. In Shanghai, China, for about 45 days prior to the news report, 1,826 manhole covers were stolen. The covers' attraction was that they could be sold as scrap metal. In the Chinese case, the result was that people fell into the manholes. A 4-year-old boy and a woman in her 80s did so, and died. They drowned in drainage pipes below.When one of these tenets of road safety is breached intentionally — especially for one person's gain — the consequence beyond the danger is criminal.Such was the case not in China but in Polk County, the Sheriff's Office says, when 166 manhole covers were stolen. They were taken in the Village 7 area of Poinciana, particularly along Lake Marion Creek Road, between Jan. 9 and Wednesday.The Sheriff's Office put out a "scrap alert" to dealers that recycle metal. Gregco Recycling in Lakeland responded, saying it had the covers and records of who brought them in.On that basis, deputies arrested Christopher Fink, 40, of Haines City. They charged him with 21 counts of grand theft, four counts dealing in stolen property, four counts of false verification to a secondhand-metal dealer and 166 counts of culpable negligence exposure to harm.The Sheriff's Office is confident Fink is the culprit, saying the sales of manhole covers on four occasions to Gregco were accompanied by identification, signature and a right thumb print — Fink's.The theft brought in scrap payments totaling $1,646. The 166 missing manhole covers, at $130 each, had a total value of $21,580. That's $13.11 each — just a dime on the dollar — for the danger created but thankfully not realized.[ Glenn Marston is editorial page editor. E-mail: glenn.marston@theledger.com. Phone: 863-802-7600. ]